Formula 1: Oscar Piastri on his 2024 campaign so far, his first race win and future title hopes
Australian Formula 1 star Oscar Piastri knows the value of patience as he evolves into a top tier driver, but the McLaren young gun has declared he will be ready to fight for a world title in 2025.
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Oscar Piastri knows the value of patience as his evolution as a driver takes shape, but the rising Australian star has declared he “will be ready” to fight for a Formula 1 world title next year as he plots how a 2025 championship challenge could unfold.
Identified as a future world champion before his rookie season had barely taken flight last year, the McLaren young gun said he was confident of achieving his maiden Grand Prix victory before the end of the season – and taking an even bigger step next year.
In an interview reflecting on the first half of his sophomore F1 season, Piastri said he was proud of the growth he had made as a driver this year, while also ruing some “missed opportunities” for himself and the team.
In his second campaign in papaya, Piastri has already surpassed his total points haul from his eye-catching rookie season 12 rounds into this year’s championship where he sits fifth in the driver standings.
A pair of second-placed finishes in Monaco and Austria have headlined Piastri’s campaign, but the Melbourne racer has not been shy to express his frustration at opportunities lost in the last two races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone (fourth) following a track limits controversy and a pit stop tactical blunder.
While the 23-year-old would have liked to have already banked his first Grand Prix victory, Piastri is certain a win is within reach this year to set himself up for a title tilt next season when he hoped to be in a position to “fight from the start”.
“If we can continue having a car as competitive as it is at the moment, then yes (we can challenge for a world title),” Piastri told this masthead.
“The first few races of the season (this year), we were certainly behind Red Bull and a bit behind Ferrari as well, so they got out to a bit of a lead on us as a team and also as a driver. I think we are now clawing that back.
“But as soon as you give anyone a little advantage in F1 it’s very, very tough to get it back.
“So I feel like next year, we will hopefully be in a good position to fight from the start.
“I feel like I’m still evolving as a driver and getting more experienced and improving.
“But, yes, I think if we have a car that’s capable of fighting for a championship, I’ll be ready.”
Arriving in F1 on the back of three straight junior championship crowns, Piastri was labelled a “future world champion” by his McLaren boss Zak Brown after only a handful of races last year.
Piastri produced an eye-catching debut F1 season in which he was named the FIA’s Rookie of the Year, enjoying the best rookie campaign since Lewis Hamilton.
He took a sprint victory at the Qatar Grand Prix and finished ninth in the driver standings, three places behind his teammate Lando Norris.
WAITING FOR THE WIN
Amid heightened expectations in his second season, the Aussie young gun is still chasing his maiden Grand Prix win, but is adamant it is not far away.
“We’ve got a very quick car. We’ve had a few opportunities on both sides of the garage, I would say to win races, so I feel like there’s definitely going to be chances,” Piastri said.
“We just need to make sure we put ourselves in a position to take them.
“I’m confident that we can do it. We just need to make sure we take our opportunities.”
Teammate Norris finally broke through to claim his first career Grand Prix win in Miami earlier this year on his 110th attempt.
Piastri appreciated the value of patience as he focused on developing his racing skills, but felt he would “deserve it” when the win eventually came.
“I mean, of course, I would have liked to (had a win by now),” Piastri said.
“But I’m not focused on just trying to win. You know, I’m trying to work on improving myself and putting myself in the right positions more than the results that I get from it.
“I’m patient. Of course, I’d love to win every race.
“But I think I’ll feel like I deserve it when it comes.”
RATING HIS SEASON THUS FAR
On the whole, Piastri rated his second F1 season as “very positive”, underlined by his own development as a driver and the competitive McLaren car.
But he said the team, which sits third in the constructors’ championship behind Red Bull and Ferrari, needed to make sure it “cashed in” on its opportunities.
“On the whole it’s been very positive from both a team point of view and a personal point of view,” Piastri said.
“Obviously we’ve got a very competitive car now, which is a very exciting position to be in.
“But also personally, I feel like it’s been quite a good season so far. Some weekends have not been as good as I would have liked, but there’s still bound to happen from time to time.
“The thing that I’m happy with is the things I wanted to improve from last season, I’ve been able to make good steps with.
“But I think there’s been some missed opportunities as well, as an individual and also as a team. “We’ve come close to winning a couple of races now …. some things are out of our control, but also some things in our control.
“So I think mostly happy and satisfied and feeling like there’s improvement, but also (there’s) some opportunities to be cashed in.”
SILVERSTONE STRATEGY
One of those opportunities was last weekend’s British Grand Prix where Piastri’s race was cruelled by a pit stop decision.
As rain began to fall, McLaren opted to leave Piastri out for an extra lap when they made the call to pit Norris, rather than double-stack.
Piastri’s race suffered as a result and he expressed his frustrations over the call post-race and has since addressed it in the team debriefs.
“We have discussed that a bit. We still need to go through it properly,” Piastri said.
“It wasn’t a team decision that went wrong so to speak, it was a tactical decision that went wrong …. we didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was staying out for one more lap.
“It certainly wasn’t because I wasn’t allowed to pit or there was a preference or whatever. We could have easily double stacked and I think it was a tough decision.
“There wasn’t much information, but those are the little things that are going to make a really big difference.
“We’ve analysed that a bit …. the main things that went wrong. There’s not just one thing that leads to a decision, there are a multitude of things.
“We still need to go through it fully. But I think we’re pretty confident that we’re on the right track and hopefully we can get it right in the future.”
DYNAMIC WITH LANDO
While the papaya pair are now fighting “for much higher positions” on track, Piastri said his relationship with Norris, who sits second in the championship behind Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen, remained strong.
He said the duo remained focused on the goal to move the team forward.
“We still have the same relationship as we did from day one, basically,” Piastri said.
“I mean we know each other more now and I guess our personal relationship is a bit more evolved, but I think the working relationship is still exactly the same as it was.
“Of course, we’re both fighting for much higher positions than we were before.
“But the goal is still the same, trying to move the team forward and until we’re clearly first and second with no other competition then I’m not expecting that to change at all.
“And I think trying to help the team is always going to be an important aspect, no matter what position we’re in as drivers because the sport is much bigger than just Lando and I and this team is much bigger than just Lando and I.
“I don’t think it’s changed at all and I don’t think it will. I think we’re both enjoying being able to fight for some more trophies and spraying each other with champagne.”
ENDS
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